Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) (MPS) regards the premium implied in a €30.6 billion ($34.9 billion) unsolicited takeover bid from rival Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) as too low, the bank said on Thursday.
MPS said in a statement at the end of its board meeting that the premium was lower than the average level in comparable deals within the Italian banking sector, "equal to approximately 30% compared with the official price of the day prior to the announcement and approximately 41% compared with the one month volume-weighted average price".
MPS also said on Thursday its board would continue to assess the offer promoted by Intesa Sanpaolo thoroughly, as well as deepen the technical analyses of a separate merger proposal it received from rival Banco BPM (BAMI.MI).
"The Board of Directors believes that the Combination Proposal received from Banco BPM deserves a comprehensive and rigorous assessment," it said.
Banco BPM, which has France's Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) as its main shareholder, approached MPS last month to discuss a potential "merger of equals".
BPM gave no further details of a possible deal structure. Since then, however, the two banks' market values have diverged sharply. ($1 = 0.8763 euros)
